Nursing Ethics and the 21st-Century Armed Conflict

The purpose of this article is to call attention to the lack of caregiver safety in conflict settings; to bring awareness to nurses and health care professionals of new challenges, specifically the deliberate targeting of health care professionals, that they may encounter in local armed conflict situations; and to address a gap in knowledge about the social and cultural factors surrounding 21st-century armed conflict that directly affect the provision of health care. I argue that these are of interest to transcultural nursing in that violent actors belong to a dangerous subculture, the understanding of which is important to transcultural nursing practice and caregiver safety. The article calls for increased focus on the protection of the nursing workforce and renewed attention on international humanitarian law and the Geneva Conventions that mandate the safety of global health care workers.

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Resolving conflict at work: what a nurse should know and take / Rešavanje konflikta na poslu: šta medicinska sestra treba da zna i preduzme

SESTRINSKI ŽURNAL ◽

10.7251/sez0114050s ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 1 (1) ◽

pp. 50

Author(s):

Ankica Stajić Vujić

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Health Care Workers ◽

Health Professionals ◽

Health Care Professionals ◽

Human Life ◽

Health Centre ◽

Knowing That ◽

Conflict Situations ◽

The People ◽

Care Workers

Conflicts are part of our everyday life. They are inevitable companions in every sphere of human activity. Health care workers, as well as all the people who directly communicate with others, entering into conflict situations more often and several times a day. In contrast, health professionals do not have much knowledge about the sources of conflict and ways to solve them. The Health Centre Bijeljina in 2010 introduced ISO standards 9001, under which it was adopted and procedures: Managing appeals to us. Health care professionals are invited to efficiently resolve conflicts, knowing that they themselves created, and they are an essential part of human life. The results show that the application of the standards effective in resolving conflicts and conflict situations in the DZ-Bijeljina.

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Hidden Tales of Ebola: Airing the Forgotten Voices of Ugandan “Ebola Nurses”

Journal of Transcultural Nursing ◽

10.1177/10436596211017968 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 104365962110179

Author(s):

Isaac Okello Wonyima ◽

Susan Fowler-Kerry ◽

Grace Nambozi ◽

Charlotte Barry ◽

Jeanie Wills ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Health Care Professionals ◽

Access To Treatment ◽

Care Workers ◽

Free Health Care ◽

Control And Prevention ◽

Holistic Practice ◽

Phenomenological Design ◽

Depth Interviews ◽

Current Reality

Introduction According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Ebola has affected the lives of thousands, including health care workers. With few studies describing the experience of nurses who survived Ebola, the study aimed to describe Ugandan nurses’ experiences. Method Using a phenomenological design, in-depth interviews were conducted among five Ugandan nurses who contracted Ebola and survived. Result Thematic analysis revealed themes of expectations of dying, hopelessness, loneliness, and betrayal by family, community, and the health system. Discussion Results support the need for policies targeting holistic practice protocols to protect all health care professionals during future outbreaks. Last, nursing survivors should have access to government-guaranteed support programs, including free health care and financial stipends. These results and recommendations transcend to the current reality of living with COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019). Efficient practice protocols could protect all rights and privileges and contribute to access to treatment and stigma removal.

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Health Care Providers in War and Armed Conflict: Operational and Educational Challenges in International Humanitarian Law and the Geneva Conventions, Part I. Historical Perspective

Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness ◽

10.1017/dmp.2018.41 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 13 (02) ◽

pp. 109-115 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Frederick M. Burkle ◽

Adam L. Kushner ◽

Christos Giannou ◽

Mary A. Paterson ◽

Sherry M. Wren ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Health Care Providers ◽

Armed Conflict ◽

Historical Perspective ◽

Geneva Convention ◽

World Health ◽

International Humanitarian Law ◽

Humanitarian Law ◽

Care Providers ◽

The Impact

AbstractSince 1945, the reason for humanitarian crises and the way in which the world responds to them has dramatically changed every 10 to 15 years or less. Planning, response, and recovery for these tragic events have often been ad hoc, inconsistent, and insufficient, largely because of the complexity of global humanitarian demands and their corresponding response system capabilities. This historical perspective chronicles the transformation of war and armed conflicts from the Cold War to today, emphasizing the impact these events have had on humanitarian professionals and their struggle to adapt to increasing humanitarian, operational, and political challenges. An unprecedented independent United Nations–World Health Organization decision in the Battle for Mosul in Iraq to deploy to combat zones emergency medical teams unprepared in the skills of decades-tested war and armed conflict preparation and response afforded to health care providers and dictated by International Humanitarian Law and Geneva Convention protections has abruptly challenged future decision-making and deployments. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2019;13:109–115)

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Clinical evaluation of mark induced dermatitis on health care workers during COVID-19 pandemic: a cross sectional study

International Journal of Research in Dermatology ◽

10.18203/issn.2455-4529.intjresdermatol20211701 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 7 (3) ◽

pp. 413

Author(s):

Sushma I. ◽

Nivin Simon ◽

A. J. S. Pravin ◽

M. K. Padmaprasad ◽

M. Vijayabharathi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Clinical Evaluation ◽

Health Care Workers ◽

Health Care Professionals ◽

Healthcare Workers ◽

Skin Diseases ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Sectional Study ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Care Workers

Background: Mask induced dermatitis is common among health care workers now because of the obligatory use of facemask for a longer period during COVID-19, the clinical features vary. Very few studies could be conducted due to the COVID induced constraints. Studies regarding reactions to face masks in health workers published to date are limited and hence we decided to do this study. The objective of this study was to find out the clinical presentations of mask induced dermatitis due to long term use of facemask on healthcare workers during COVID-19 pandemic.Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted among 40 healthcare workers attend our OPD with face mask for 6 months. After getting informed written consent clinical evaluation was made by history and dermatologic examination.Results: Total 40 health care professionals between the age group of 21-50 years (17 females and 23 males) came to our OPD with complaints of itching and dryness with signs of erythema, scaling, papules for 6 months duration. Out of them, 15 (37.5%) patients had exacerbation of pre-existing dermatoses like atopic dermatitis, seborrheic dermatitis, chronic urticaria, acne. 10 patients (25%) had irritant contact dermatitis 7 patients (17.5%) had sweat-induced dermatitis, 4 patients (10%) had dermatitis due to sponge strip at the nasal bridge, 4 patients (10%) had dermatitis due to vehement use of ear loop involving retroauricular region.Conclusions: This study showed that wearing face masks results in the development and aggravation of other skin diseases due to various causes. Itch can induce scratching and thus lead to inappropriate use of face masks, which could compromise their function.

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Noninvasive ventilation masks with viral filters to protect health care workers from SARS-CoV-2 / Coronavirus infections

10.21203/rs.3.rs-21269/v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Dominic Dellweg ◽

Peter Haidl ◽

Jens Kerl ◽

Dieter Koehler

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Health Care Professionals ◽

Test Chamber ◽

Rubber Band ◽

Protection Measure ◽

Non Invasive ◽

Non Invasive Ventilation ◽

Care Workers ◽

Surgical Masks ◽

N95 Respirators

Abstract Background:There is a shortage of masks and respirators for the protection of health care professionals during the current SARS-CoV-2 / Coronavirus pandemic. Masks for non-invasive ventilation (NIV) in combination with viral-proof filters could serve as an alternative protection measure. We wanted to determine the aerosol filtering efficacies of such devices in comparison to conventional surgical masks, N95 and FFP3 respirators.Method:Masks and respirators were mounted on a ventilated mannequin head in a test-chamber. Absorption of radioactive particles was measured compared to a non-filtered reference port.Results: Filter efficacies were 93.3 ± 1.5 % for a ResMed AcuCare NIV-mask plus filter, 71.2 ± 0.2 % for a ResMed Mirage Quattro FX NIV-mask plus filter, 89.4 ± 0.9 % for a Loewenstein JOYCEclinc FF NIV-mask plus filter, 48.4 ± 4 % for a surgical mask with rubber band, 60.5 ± 9.1 % for a surgical mask with ribbons, 56.9 ± 7.5 % for a FFP3 respirator, 64.5 % ± 5.1 for a N95 respirator. The ResMed AcuCare and the Loewenstein JOYCEclinic FF mask were more effective than any other of the tested devices (p < 0.001 and p = 0.001 respectively)Conclusion:NIV masks with viral-proof filters effectively filter respirable particles. Two tested NIV masks were more effective than the tested FFP3 and N95 respirators.

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Awareness among health care professionals regarding nosocomial pathogens and role of fomites in their transmission.

The Professional Medical Journal ◽

10.29309/tpmj/2020.27.05.4149 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 27 (05) ◽

pp. 1032-1037

Author(s):

Khadija Mumtaz ◽

Nadia Aslam ◽

Naima Mehdi ◽

Nazma Kiran ◽

Sadaf Farzand ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Health Care Workers ◽

Nosocomial Infections ◽

Health Care Professionals ◽

Basic Knowledge ◽

Care Hospital ◽

Nosocomial Pathogens ◽

Care Workers ◽

Health Care Associated Infections ◽

Tract Infections

Objectives: This study was performed to access the knowledge of health care professionals regarding health care associated infections, nosocomial pathogens, fomites and their role in transmission of nosocomial pathogens. Study Design: Descriptive, questionnaire based, cross-sectional study. Setting: Tertiary care hospital of Lahore, Punjab. Period: From October 2017 to January 2018. Material & Methods: Questionnaires were carefully formulated to access basic knowledge of physicians, surgeons and nurses. Responses given were analyzed and recorded as frequency and percentage. Results: Regarding health care associated infections, respiratory tract infections were identified by 72% surgeons, 65% physicians and 59% nurses. Surgical wound infections were identified by 76% of surgeons and 81% nurses. 45.7% physician identified bacteraemia as nosocomial infection. Rate of identification for rest of nosocomial infections was sub optimum (<50%) by health care workers. Regarding identification of nosocomial pathogens, Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus was marked by 65% of physicians, 83.8% of nurses, 76% of surgeons. Pseudomonas nosocomial pathogen was identified by 40%, 46% and 64% of physicians, nurses and surgeons respectively. The rate of identification for rest of the nosocomial organisms was again sub optimum (<40%) by health care workers. Regarding fomites, mattresses and pillows, thermometer, stethoscopes were identified by 75.7%, 59.2 and 50% of Health care professionals respectively. Conclusion: This survey identified positive attitude among Health care workers towards infection control but low level of knowledge regarding health care associated infections and nosocomial pathogens. Therefore, to prevent nosocomial infections, there is strong need to develop strategies for improving knowledge of Health care professionals.

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Impact of COVID-19 on healthcare workers at a cancer care centre

10.1101/2021.02.28.21252181 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Atika Dogra ◽

Anuj Parkash ◽

Anurag Mehta ◽

Meenu Bhatia

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Health Care Professionals ◽

Front Line ◽

Care Workers ◽

Front Line Workers ◽

Severity Of The Disease ◽

Novel Coronavirus ◽

Spread Of Infection ◽

The Impact

ABSTRACTBackgroundThe services of front-line health care workers (HCWs) have been paramount in the management of novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Health care professionals have been at high occupational risk of getting disease and even dying of the disease, however; they have been the subject of very limited studies in terms of COVID-19. The objectives of this study are to examine the incidence and the impact of COVID-19 infection among HCWs in terms of recovery, productivity, quality of life (QOL) and post-COVID complications.Materials and MethodsThis was a retrospective, questionnaire based study including demographic details, workplace characteristics, symptoms, source/ spread of infection, details of recovery and the consequences of COVID-19 comprising impaired productivity/ QOL, post-COVID-19 complications and others. The data were analyzed by using IBM SPSS software (Version 23, SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA).Results and ConclusionsOut of a total of 1482 employees, 18.3% (271) were laboratory confirmed to have contracted novel contagion during the study period of 5 months. The median age at diagnosis was 29 (range, 21-62) years. Front-line workers and female workers were the most infected personnel with COVID-19. Flu-like symptoms were the most frequently experienced symptoms. The median time for recovery was 20 (range, 2-150) days. The relationship between pre-existing comorbidities and age was highly significant. The QOL and productivity were associated with pre-existing comorbidities, severity of the disease, time for recovery and post-COVID syndrome. More than a half (51.8%) of all HCWs had suffered from post-COVID complications. There was no fatality reported due to COVID-19. The post-COVID complications were related to pre-existing comorbidities, severity of disease, time for recovery and status of recovery. Further research to explore the consequences of COVID-19 is warranted. The general public needs to be aware of symptoms and management of the post-COVID syndrome.

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‘They are more careful’

The Anthropological Demography of Health ◽

10.1093/oso/9780198862437.003.0019 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 493-515

Author(s):

Elizabeth L Krause

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Health Care Professionals ◽

Quality Care ◽

Fashion Industry ◽

Parental Decision Making ◽

Chinese Parents ◽

Care Workers ◽

Hospital Ethnography ◽

Transnational Migrants ◽

Migrant Parents

This chapter analyses a poorly understood health practice: transnational caring for infants and children. A reproductive paradox provides the point of departure. A majority of births were registered to foreign women in Prato, Italy, yet many parents sent their babies back to China. The chapter focuses on decisions among transnational migrants, particularly Chinese parents working in the Made in Italy fashion industry, that result in the formation of global households. The chapter draws on hospital ethnography in the intimate space of a paediatric exam room and interviews with migrant parents and health-care workers. Qualitative data analysis reveals parents’ privileging of quality care. Findings challenge health-care professionals’ critical gaze and shed light on how migrant parents cope with transnational lives as non-citizen entrepreneurs and workers. Finally, understanding parental decision making may improve how practitioners approach health problems, particularly in a context of intensified migration and mobility.

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Risk Perception and Worries among Health Care Workers in the COVID-19 Pandemic: Findings from an Italian Survey

Healthcare ◽

10.3390/healthcare8040535 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 8 (4) ◽

pp. 535

Author(s):

Mariangela Valentina Puci ◽

Guido Nosari ◽

Federica Loi ◽

Giulia Virginia Puci ◽

Cristina Montomoli ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Risk Perception ◽

Health Care Providers ◽

Health Care Workers ◽

Health Care Professionals ◽

Sleep Disturbances ◽

Well Being ◽

Care Providers ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Care Workers

The ongoing pandemic scenario, due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), has had a considerable impact on public health all over the world. Italy was one of the most affected countries, as the first European full-blown outbreak occurred there. The exposure of the Italian health care workers to COVID-19 may be an important risk factor for psychological distress. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to describe worries and risk perception of being infected among Italian Health Care Workers (HCWs) during the first wave of the pandemic. In total, 2078 HCWs participated in a web survey (78.8% were females). The highest percentage of respondents were physicians (40.75%) and nurses (32.15%), followed by medical (18.00%), health care support (4.50%) and administrative (4.60%) staff. In a score range between 0 (not worried) and 4 (very worried), our results showed that participants declared that they were worried about the Coronavirus infection with a median score of 3 (IQR 2-3) and for 59.19% the risk perception of being infected was very high. In addition, HCWs reported they suffered from sleep disturbances (63.43%). From the analysis of the psychological aspect, a possible divergence emerged between the perceived need for psychological support (83.85%) and the relative lack of this service among health care providers emerged (9.38%). Our findings highlight the importance of psychological and psychiatric support services not only during the COVID-19 pandemic, but also in other emerging infectious diseases (EIDs) scenarios. These services may be useful for health authorities and policymakers to ensure the psychological well-being of health care professionals and to promote precautionary behaviors among them.

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The psychosocial effects of being quarantined following exposure to COVID-19: A qualitative study of Lebanese health care workers

International Journal of Social Psychiatry ◽

10.1177/0020764020932202 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 66 (6) ◽

pp. 560-565 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Mirna Fawaz ◽

Ali Samaha

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Health Care Providers ◽

Health Care Workers ◽

Health Care Professionals ◽

Control Measures ◽

Mental Wellbeing ◽

Care Providers ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Psychosocial Effects ◽

Care Workers

Background: Since the outbreak of the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19), health care professionals in Lebanon have been diligently serving as the frontline of defense. In the light of challenging economic and political circumstances, putting their community wellbeing as a priority, and abiding by quarantine and strict infection control measures, health care professionals risk both their physical and mental wellbeing. Objective: The aim of this study is to explore the psychosocial effects of being quarantined following exposure to COVID-19 among Lebanese health care professionals. Method: An exploratory qualitative research design was employed, where semi-structured interviews were carried out involving a sample of 13 Lebanese health care providers working at various COVID-19 units. Results: The qualitative analysis has revealed four themes namely ‘Fears of contracting and spreading the virus’, ‘Conflict between professional duty and family obligation’, ‘Stigma of being infected’, and ‘Inadequate or inaccurate information’. Conclusion: COVID-19 quarantine has been posing intense psychological challenges among Lebanese health care workers which are worsened at times by the economic instability; thus, health care policymakers are urged to take proper action nationwide to alleviate longlisting implications and support the health care providers in fulfilling their mission.

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